A Training Session
by LadyLuck678
Summary: Yellow visits Earth to test Steven's abilities in the Ancient Sky Arena. Takes place after Steven Universe: The Malevolent Shard.


**This is just a one-shot taking place shortly after Steven Universe: The Malevolent Shard**

**It's been rattling around in my head after someone asked what a training session with Yellow Diamond may be like.**

**Enjoy!**

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The sun was out, and the skies were a vibrant azure blue. White, puffy clouds floated by lazily. It was the end of Earth's summer season, and it seemed as if it was reluctant to go. It clung to the hot air desperately and hazily as insects hummed in the air.

Yellow Diamond supposed that maybe, just maybe, Earth wasn't as miserable as she had initially thought. It certainly had its charms; Blue Diamond had said as much. Blue was the one who encouraged the golden matriarch to go to Earth to visit in the first place.

Blue's encouragement and Steven himself was more than enough to motivate her, but then there was Steven's burgeoning abilities. The potential he had was staggering to the imagination. That, and he was a hybrid, half organic and half gem. It was a statistical impossibility; Yellow was dumbfounded when she finally realized who (and what) Steven was.

His abilities were what brought Yellow to Earth on this very trip. A few weeks ago, Blue had visited Earth at Steven's request, to help contain a dangerous artifact. In her report, she detailed some of the boy's abilities and concerns about his lack of knowledge and skill. The Crystal Gems had done their best, but even they didn't know he was a Diamond until somewhat recently. (_Most_ of them didn't know…)

So, a trip to Earth was in order. Yellow wanted to see what the boy gem could do firsthand in a controlled environment. She'd seen him fight briefly against various gems, but was unable to dedicate her full attention to him.

Their battle against each other on the beach was one such occasion. It was also a painfully one-sided fight; Steven was an unwilling participant. Yellow winced at the memory, had she known that Steven was Pink Diamond's offspring… She shook her head; it wasn't a pleasant memory. (She had almost crushed poor Steven.)

So, here she stood in the Ancient Sky Arena. Regrettably, she had to shift her form to get to the arena; only the smaller warp pad worked. The central warp pad has long since been destroyed. However, proper Gem decorum was almost non-existent on Earth. It's one of the few times Yellow Diamond felt somewhat comfortable shifting her form to something more compact.

The general stood about eight feet tall with a saffron-colored data screen hovering in front of her. Flaxen hair perfectly in place, her golden armor glinting sharply in the sunlight as her hip cape swayed with the breeze.

"Are you ready Yellow?" Steven hollered over to her. She was a few dozen paces away from the boy.

"Patience, young man," She called back to him sternly. She actually had medical information and biometric scans running on the half-gem. Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG had supplied the programs via the "internet." The technology was archaic, but it was impressive that the humans had come so far in such a short amount of time. (It was certainly worth noting…) She'd have her engineers back on Homeworld come up with a much more comprehensive program for future sparing sessions now that she had a base program to work from.

Yellow was thorough; she didn't want to damage the boy, she wanted to spar with him. She had to be careful.

"Com'on already! Get this party started!" An impatient scratchy voice pierced the air from the stony bleachers surrounding the arena.

"I don't require sleep, but I may try if _something_ doesn't happen soon!" Another voice that was all too familiar floated over to Yellow. (The soft lilt was unmistakable.)

The general's ire rose as she snapped her head in the direction of the harassing comments. An amethyst and the peridot were sitting in the benches a few feet from the arena floor with Steven's pearl and the perma-fusion "Garnet." Just in front, sitting on the court at ground level was Blue Diamond, who waved enthusiastically and winked seductively when Yellow looked over.

Yellow blushed a burnt sienna color, she found it infuriating how little control she had over her emotions when in Blue's presence. She collapsed the data screen and turned her attention back to Steven.

"Are you ready?" The general's tone was grave but tempered with patience.

"I'm ready, Yellow!" Steven grinned as he summoned his rose-colored shield and bounced on the balls of his feet.

A brief memory flashed through the golden matriarch's mind, of a young gem with hibiscus colored eyes and curly pink hair saying the same exact words. The corner of Yellow's mouth quirked up just a little as her gaze softened almost imperceptibly.

"Alright," Yellow Diamond widened her stance as the golden gem on her chest began to glow. A gleaming pommel and hilt appeared as the general summoned her sword. She hefted the weapon thoughtfully and performed a test swing before she brought the blade into a high guard.

"Give me everything you have, Steven. Don't hold back!" The young gem seemed hesitant, uncertain. Yellow watched as he swallowed hard.

Just as she opened her mouth to say something the boy charged. He ran forward faster than Yellow thought he was capable of, and instead of running headlong into her, he jumped up and flung his shield.

She deflected the aegis easily with her blade, not paying attention to the rose-colored spiky construct that Steven had summoned around himself. He continued to use the forward momentum to his advantage.

Yellow deftly dodged out of Steven's range as he bounced, and the construct around him collapsed. It was an impressive attack; she wasn't expecting it at all. (The Crystal Gems have trained him _well_.) The general wanted to push him though, how far could she go?

Cheering and clapping echoed through the stony battleground. Yellow rested her sword on the ground, the tip biting and chipping into the smooth granite.

"Steven, I have a single condition for victory; you must tag me one time. If you can do that, you've won." Yellow said in a challenging tone. Usually, she would set the terms for winning before the sparring had begun. Still, the general wasn't entirely sure what to expect. (That and she didn't want to push him so hard as for him to injure himself.)

"Got it, Yellow!" The boy said amicably. He then summoned two shields, one on each arm. This was _different_…

He charged again and leaped up, throwing one shield at Yellow. The Diamond deflected it quickly; it was meant to distract her like the first time. Were Steven an actual opponent, Yellow might have just taken the hit to strike down her aggressor.

The movement only took a few seconds, but Yellow Diamond was created for battle. She was made for war and conquest, and conflict was as natural to her as breathing was for organic life. She broke down the boy's moves systematically in her mind, analyzing every minute detail.

The boy gem kept barreling towards her, his bulwark placed in front intent on ramming into her. Speed, velocity, angle of attack; Yellow had them all figured out mathematically in her mind before he even reached the apex of his assault.

A split-second before Steven made contact Yellow simply stepped aside. The boy smashed into the ground where the Diamond was just moments before. Pulverized stone and dust coming up like a geyser. The failed attack jarred the boy, shattering his aegis, and stunning him.

Yellow tutted and gave him a gentle swat on the bottom with the flat of her golden blade. "Switch tactics, young man! Distractions will only go so far."

"_Boooo_! C'mon Steve-O, knock her block off!" The amethyst shouted from the bleachers.

"It's alright, Steven, you can do this!" The boy's pearl called out, encouraging him to fight on. The perma-fusion simply held up her thumb… The general hadn't the slightest idea _what_ that meant.

Yellow's brow canted up, an unspoken question asked; Steven nodded and summoned his shield. The golden matriarch didn't hesitate; she brought up her sword with blinding speed and swung for the boy. Steven held fast, grunting with effort. Remarkably strong with exceptional speed, the boy was impressive. Very few gems could withstand the blow that Yellow had just dealt.

"What now, young man!? You're in quite the predicament!" The general barked at Steven; she watched as beads of sweat rolled down the sides of his face. His expression pure determination.

"I'm going to follow your advice, I'm going to change tactics!" Steven pushed forward with incredible strength and shoved Yellow backward.

She stumbled back and barely missed another rose-colored shield that was flung right at her head. Yellow sneered as she brought her sword up facing Steven, "You miss-"

Crumbling stone could be heard behind the golden matriarch, she turned just in time to see half of a pillar falling on top of her. When the dust finally cleared, Yellow found herself pinned underneath half of a marble column from the waist down. She sighed; she had underestimated Steven _again_.

The boy walked over and knelt down next to Yellow's head. He ceremoniously lifted a finger and placed it directly in the center of the sun-colored gem in her chest, "Tag, you're it!"

"I suppose I am, young man." The golden matriarch gave a great sigh as she pursed her lips.

Cheering could be heard from the pair's audience, "Way to beat up Yellow clod, Steven!"

"Um, sorry, I'll talk to Peridot about that." Steven got up and rubbed his hands together as he ambled over to the broken column. He lifted the end with a grunt, and Yellow slipped out from underneath. She stood and cracked her neck.

"Everything good, Yellow?" The Diamond looked down at the boy and gave a gentle smile. It was paradoxical how he could be so much like Pink and _so different_ at the same time.

It caused her gem to ache, but it wasn't entirely wrong. The feeling didn't have a name, but it was beginning to heal a wound that Yellow didn't think she would ever recover from. Pride and love, rage, and regret; it was all of these things. It was beautiful. It was painful.

"Yes, you did very well. That will teach _me_ to underestimate _you_." She knelt and ruffled Steven's hair. The boy laughed and held her hand on top of his head as he beamed back at Yellow.

"We're having a bonfire on the beach, can you stay?"

"Ah-I," Yellow hesitated; there was work to be done, and she was hardly friends with the Crystal Gems.

"Please? Blue's staying." Steven slipped out from underneath Yellow's gloved hand but didn't stop holding her fingers.

"Well then I'll have to stay, Blue and I traveled on the same ship together." The general huffed, she knew Blue wouldn't deny Steven her company, especially when invited. (Secretly Yellow was pleased to no end, Steven asking her to stay and visit his home. Though she'd dissipate her form before she admitted it to anyone.)

"Alright! Com'on Yellow, we're gonna have fun!" He squeezed her hand before letting go and ran ahead of her.

She watched as he was welcomed by the other gems. The amethyst grabbing and giving him a rough hug around the neck while the perma-fusion clapped his back. Blue had walked over and bent down to say something in his ear. (Undoubtedly, her congratulations and encouragement.)

When Yellow had finally caught up, Steven and the gems had already made their way to the top of the arena steps towards the warp pad. The boy waved down at Yellow, "Don't take too long!" He then disappeared down the opposite side.

Blue had stayed behind to wait for Yellow. She sauntered up and wrapped her arms around the general's neck.

"Well?" Blue said, arching an eyebrow questioningly at Yellow.

"Well what? He's very powerful, you didn't need me to tell you that."

"No, but I wanted you to see for yourself. I believe he needs further instruction." The cerulean gem carded her hand through stiff flaxen locks. Yellow hummed in agreement and leaned into the embrace, placing her hands on Blue's curved hips.

Blue gazed into amber eyes for a long moment. They had been a pair for so long Blue could instantly sense when something was bothering Yellow. "What's troubling you, love?"

"I'm not entirely sure that I'm worthy of Steven's affections, after everything that's happened…" Yellow looked away, a heavy sigh that she seemed to have been holding for millennia was released.

"Yellow, look at me," Gilt eyes locked on to arctic blue ones. "We must earn this love, this trust. It was given freely before, and we shattered it and threw it away carelessly, not knowing what we had until it was gone. Now we must work to make things whole again. It is not an easy task, but I would happily bear that burden for one more chance. I fervently believe we're on the right path."

Yellow could only nod, emotions thick and sticking within her throat. She gathered Blue into her arms and tangled her hands in her long silvery locks. The pair held each other for a long moment before either one of them dared speak.

"So, we're staying for a bonfire?" Yellow's voice was muffled in Blue's shoulder.

"Perhaps I wanted to stay, and it's sometimes easier to ask for forgiveness than permission." The pair finally separated, Blue had a sheepish look on her face as she bit her lip.

"Blue-"

"What would you have said if I had asked, hmm?" The cerulean matriarch stepped closer, her forehead resting on Yellow's.

"No, there's work-"

"-to be done. There's always work, there will always be work! What's a few more short hours?"

"I suppose you're right, it would make little difference at this point." The general relented, her shoulders slumping.

Blue stepped in even closer, their bodies completely flush with one another's, their gems almost touching. Yellow felt her cheeks burn, Blue could do that so easily to her, it drove her mad.

"You know, I feel guilty. I should have asked to stay beforehand." Blue said in a low timbre that was only ever meant for Yellow's ears.

"Yes, you should have." Yellow growled as she nuzzled the side of Blue's jaw.

"Hmn, when we're done visiting, I feel that I should make it up to you. Perhaps on our way back to Homeworld?"

Blue cupped Yellow's cheek and kissed her deeply. The pair staying that way for a long while, both reluctant to end the stolen moment of intimacy. Their gems pulsed, filling the small spaces between them with a brilliant viridian light. It was Yellow who ended the kiss finally, gently biting Blue's bottom lip as she pulled away.

The general was infinitely satisfied to see Blue's cheeks were three shades darker than they usually were. (Always making her blush… she showed Blue who could make who blush.)

"Come, we shouldn't keep Steven waiting." Yellow pulled away with a smug smile, lacing her fingers with Blue's as the pair made their way towards the warp.


End file.
